Lockheed to concentrate hypersonic programs in northern Alabama

Lockheed Martin is is to build a new plant for the assembly, integration and testing of hypersonics programs and locate the management and engineering workforce for many of these progra ...

The Courtland expansion will bring two new buildings in support of the company's hypersonics programs, making Northern Alabama the central location for Lockheed's Hypersonic Strike Work.&nbsp;.

The decision will bring 72 new jobs to Courtland and 200 new jobs to Huntsville over the next three years, with additional job growth expected.

COURTLAND, Alabama - Lockheed Martin is to build a new plant for the assembly, integration and testing of hypersonics programs and locate the management and engineering workforce for many of these programs in Huntsville.

The Courtland expansion will bring two new buildings in support of the company's hypersonics programs, making Northern Alabama the central location for Lockheed's Hypersonic Strike Work.

The decision will bring 72 new jobs to Courtland and 200 new jobs to Huntsville over the next three years, with additional job growth expected.

Lockheed Martin last month was awarded a $347 million contract by the U.S. Army as part of a multi-year hypersonic weapons development.

During an official ceremony in Courtland on Monday, Marillyn Hewson, Chairman, President and CEO for Lockheed Martin, with speakers Senator Richard Shelby, Governor Kay Ivey, Congressmen Robert Aderholt and Mo Brooks, and Rick Ambrose, Executive Vice President of Space for Lockheed Martin, spoke to the shared commitment it takes to expand operations in Northern Alabama and the collaborative effort between government and industry to provide the advanced capability to the warfighter. Rick Ambrosehosted an event, later in the day in Huntsville, to celebrate the increased workforce expansion as part of this effort.

Ground-breaking ceremony on Monday

Officials representing the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and U.S. Navy were in attendance to mark the occasion for the future site of the next hypersonic production facility.

Lockheed Martin says it has a strong partnership with the state of Alabama that dates back several decades and includes research and development on rockets and space launch vehicles, tactical missiles, space exploration and air and missile defense targets.

Lockheed Martin's Courtland and Huntsville employees are an established part of the community. The company employs over 2,000 people in Alabama.

"The decision to bring hypersonic manufacturing to this region would not have been possible without the support of the State of Alabama, our local partners including Lawrence and Madison counties, the cities of Courtland and Huntsville and Tennessee Valley Authority as well as those elected representatives in Congress,"Scott Keller, vice president and general manager for Strategic and Missile Defense for Lockheed Martin said Monday. "On behalf of Lockheed Martin, we are honored to expand our presence in Northern Alabama and watch as the next cohort of innovators take advanced defense technology to levels we once thought were impossible."

"Lockheed Martin has a longstanding relationship with the state of Alabama, and I am proud to see that strengthen even more as they make our state the flagship location for their hypersonic programs," Governor Ivey said Monday. "Both Courtland and Huntsville will gain new jobs, which is always welcome news."